321 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Wow this book was great! I couldnt stop once I got started! Anita Shreve truly deserves the praise she gets. I went out and bought more of her books and cant wait to start one of those. Recommended for those who love literature fiction also has a bit of suspense too!

An amazing book! This is the first book that I have read by this author and I can't wait to read her others. The Pilot's Wife will surprise you at every new twist. This will be one of those books that you just can't put down!

Story of how the pilot's wife deals with her grief after her husband dies in a plane explosion. With each new bit of information she uncovers she wonders if she ever knew her husband at all. I enjoyed this well-written story very much and will seek out more of this author's work.

"The Pilot's Wife" is not what I would normally consider my kind of book. And now, thinking back over the book, I'm not sure why I enjoyed it, but I did. Anyway, I found it to be thoroughly engrossing and beautifully written. Well worth the time it took to read it

I expected to really like this book, but in the end I found it to be just okay. The plot seemed really contrived, like the author wasn't really sure what mysterious things that Jack Lyons, the pilot whose plane goes down, was up to. "The Weight of Water" was a much, much better book.

I thought this book was really well-written. The author definitely has the ability to draw you in and keep you there right away. The story was interesting.

I, too, felt compelled to keep reading, to find out what was going to happen next. But I also kept wishing it would be over. I guess that's a testament to the author's ability to give you that experience of "being there" and walking in the main character's shoes. My favorite part of the book was the last line.

Not really worth the time when there are so many other better books out there. I thought it was going to be very deep and moving but instead I found it very contrived and predictible and in the end a little shallow like a trashy made-for-tv movie.

The story of a woman who finds out her husband has died, and begins to piece together a life that she was completely unaware of. On the Oprah's book club list, a very good read about love. Highly recommend!

This book explores the grieving of a woman who has lost her husband, a pilot, in a contraversal crash. While the world around her investigates wiether or not the crash was pilot error, mechanical, or even a suicide taking the passengers with, Kathryn (our main character) has to go through many more things than even that. Her young daughter is distraught and acting out, she is finding out about her husbands real character, and dealing with her own grief and emotions. And then, when it couldn't get any more dramatic, there is a startling twist.

Oprah Book Club® Selection, March 1999: With five novels to her credit, including the acclaimed The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve now offers a skillfully crafted exploration of the long reach of tragedy in The Pilot's Wife. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness:
Kathryn wished she could manage a coma. Instead, it seemed that quite the opposite had happened: She felt herself to be inside of a private weather system, one in which she was continuously tossed and buffeted by bits of news and information, sometimes chilled by thoughts of what lay immediately ahead, thawed by the kindness of others ... frequently drenched by memories that seemed to have no regard for circumstance or place, and then subjected to the nearly intolerable heat of reporters, photographers and curious on-lookers. It was a weather system with no logic, she had decided, no pattern, no progression, no form.
The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really take off.

This Shreve book was easy to read and very enjoyable. Not unlike her other books, Shreve addresses some very difficult topics in this book, such as trust, infidelity, and a child who has experimented with their sexuality.

Kathryn, the heroine of the story, is catapulted into despair when she finds that her beloved pilot husband, Jack, has been killed in a plane crash. Comforted by Robert, a man from the union, who knows more than he initially reveals. Jack's death brings to light some disturbing possibilities which Kathryn must explore, and then come to grips with.

The story is wonderfully gripping. I really enjoyed this Shreve title, but like some of her others, wasn't thrilled with the ending, which was odd and I felt left unanswered questions.
Definitely worth reading though.

This book is part "detective story" and part "interior monologue." You are drawn into a story of a tragic plane crash and the unravling of a secret life, exploring the question, how well do we really know our spouses.

I loved this story! It is so well writed that you feel like you are there experiencing this heartbreak. It will shake you up to realize that all is not always what it seems. (and sometimes that is because we don't want to "see" what is in front of us! A good read!

I really did not think I would like this book from reading the back cover, but I LOVED it! This was a great book that was my introduction to Anita Shreve, who is now one of my favorite authors. It was hard to put down.

"Oprah Book Club® Selection, March 1999: With five novels to her credit, including the acclaimed The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve now offers a skillfully crafted exploration of the long reach of tragedy in The Pilot's Wife. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness:

Kathryn wished she could manage a coma. Instead, it seemed that quite the opposite had happened: She felt herself to be inside of a private weather system, one in which she was continuously tossed and buffeted by bits of news and information, sometimes chilled by thoughts of what lay immediately ahead, thawed by the kindness of others ... frequently drenched by memories that seemed to have no regard for circumstance or place, and then subjected to the nearly intolerable heat of reporters, photographers and curious on-lookers. It was a weather system with no logic, she had decided, no pattern, no progression, no form.

The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really take off. "

Amazon.com Review
Oprah Book ClubÂ® Selection, March 1999: With five novels to her credit, including the acclaimed The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve now offers a skillfully crafted exploration of the long reach of tragedy in The Pilot's Wife. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness:
Kathryn wished she could manage a coma. Instead, it seemed that quite the opposite had happened: She felt herself to be inside of a private weather system, one in which she was continuously tossed and buffeted by bits of news and information, sometimes chilled by thoughts of what lay immediately ahead, thawed by the kindness of others ... frequently drenched by memories that seemed to have no regard for circumstance or place, and then subjected to the nearly intolerable heat of reporters, photographers and curious on-lookers. It was a weather system with no logic, she had decided, no pattern, no progression, no form.
The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really take off.

A pilot\'s wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, How well can you really know another person?

Passed around to my group of friends while on vacation in the mountains. All 4 of us read it within a weeks time. Easy read. Interesting twists to the plot that you wouldn't expect. Makes you feel all sorts of ranges on emotions. Really enjoyed.

This was my 2nd time to read this book - it's that good. And I just loaned it to a friend last night. The author does a good job of character development and the story moves quickly. Although it's not a "happy" story, it is a story full of emotional depth.

A page-turner, as are all of Shreve's books. I've never read a bad one, or one that didn't make me wish it went longer. The perfect escape. No real redeeming value, just a great book to take you away from the trials and tribulations of life for awhile.

A oprah's book club book.
A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

I loved this book!
Until now, Kathryn Lyons's life has been peaceful if unextraordinary: a satisfying job teaching high school in the New England mill town of her childhood; a picture-perfect home by the ocean; a precocious, independent-minded fifteen-year-old daughter; and a happy marriage whose occasional dull passages she attributes to the unavoidable deadening of time. As a pilot's wife, Kathryn has learned to expect both intense exhilaration and long periods alone ? but nothing has prepared her for the late-night knock that lets her know her husband has died in a crash. As Kathryn struggles with her grief, she descends into a maelstrom of publicity stirred up by the modern hunger for the details of tragedy. Even before the plane is located in waters off the Irish coast, the relentless scrutiny of her husband's life begins to bring a bizarre personal mystery into focus. Could there be any truth to the increasingly disturbing rumors that he had a secret life?

A very well written novel that will keep you turning the pages very rapidly to reach the conclusion. This is the first novel I have read by Anita Shreve and it definitely will not be the last! I admire a writer who can grab your attention and keep you turning each page saying to yourself "What really happened? I have to get to the bottom of this." A wonderful book...no wonder it was a best seller and part of Oprah's Book Club.

This is the first book on tape i have ever listened to, so maybe that is some of the problem, but i thought it was ok. Worth reading but not the best book ever written in my opinion. To me the ending was predictable very early on and it didn't have the intrigue needed to keep me going, but I listened to it all and finished it, just not very impressed.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door.When Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time

With five novels to her credit, including the acclaimed The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve now offers a skillfully crafted exploration of the long reach of tragedy in The Pilot's Wife. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness. The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really take off.

You meet and marry. You live together for years. Then, your husband is reported missing and there are rumors of a secret life. WHAT! You have just entered the world of Kathryn Lyons. Join her as she searches for the truth.

Audrey Niffenegger, who wrote The Time Traveller's Wife, could use some lessons from Anita Shreve: You can write a compelling, sympathetic, page-turner without constant profanity, vulgar depictions of sex, and shallow characters.

The Pilot's Wife is one of the better books I've read recently. It was like standing helplessly by while watching a train wreck about to happen, and unable to look away. From the very first line in the book you know that things will continue to worsen for the main character with each turn of the page, that her "perfect" world as she knows it will unravel to almost unbearable levels. Shreve knows how to expertly draw the reader into her tales, can develop her characters into people we either know or can see in ourselves. Niffenegger, with her book, could do neither. Having read both books closely together, I couldn't help but make the obvious comparisons between the two. One soared, the other sank.

The story makes you think about how well you can really know a person. But I was let down at Katherine's reaction to finding out some of these secrets. I would have been enraged and crushed to find out some of the things she did. But I just didn't feel that from her.

The book was sad and depressing. Do you really know your spouse??
The character's love for her husband blinded her to the ugly truth,
that her husband lead a double life. Story line was well written, and I
could feel the wife's pain and questions that ran through her mind.
In the end the wife was betrayed by the husband and the husband was
betrayed by his lover. A friend who knew I was reading
it told me to stop, I will be disappointed in the end..and I was.

I was enveloped in this book from the first paragraph. Anita Shreve did an excellent job of drawing me in to the life of Kathryn Lyons, having me feel empathy for her situations. I couldn't possibly say that I can imagine what it would be like to live in the shoes of Kathryn lyons but Anita shreve had a good point in asking the question "How well can you really know another person?"

As the wife of an airline pilot, Kathryn Lyons understands the importance of being prepared for every eventuality that life presents to her. That includes everything from moving fairly frequently; to long periods of separation due to her husband's flight schedule; to the inevitable late-night knock at the door that every pilot's wife dreads. Yet when Kathryn receives such a knock: carrying word that the plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded somewhere off the coast of Ireland, she must confront the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time.

Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by the persistent rumors that Jack had led a secret double life, Kathryn sets out to discover the truth. She is determined to learn just who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost herself and her fifteen-year-old daughter. Her exhaustive search for the truth is what propels this taut and impassioned novel as it poignantly explores the question: just how well can we ever really know a person?

I must say that I absolutely loved this book. It was such an easy read for me; truly a page-turner. I've had this book on my bookshelf for quite a long time, but I can't remember if I have ever read it before. I think that I remember watching the made-for-television movie that was broadcast in 2002, starring Christine Lahti. I would definitely give this book an A+!

A must read, and make sure you have a box of tissues. This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable--one startling revelation at a time

While grieving for her husband, Jack, a pilot who died in a plane crash, Kathryn Lyons discovers that he had a second life she knew nothing about. Torn between her anger and her desire to preserve Jack's memory for their young daughter, Kathryn seeks out Jack's secret: a wife and two children living in England.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable---one revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever the knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it explores the question: how well can we ever really know another person?

This is the story of a pilot's wife who receives word late one night that her husband's plane has exploded. That is the first step into a journey that leads her down a road of unexpected twists and turns deep into her husband's secret life. Definitely a page-turner!

In the middle of the night, a man knocks on the pilot's wife's door. He's come to tell her that there had been an explosion on the international flight her husband was piloting and it had gone down in the sea just outside of Ireland. There were no survivors. He's from the pilots' union, and has also come to stay with her to help with the flood of press and questions that will be coming her way. But as he is handling the press, the pilot's wife is discovering other thngs that lead her to question whether or not she really knew her husband - and eventually lead her to London to seek answers.

Yes, This book gets the rare (from me anyway) five star rating. It is compulsively readiable. I simply could not stop reading as the secrets unfolded. Although I correctly guessed some of the revelations that came, that didn't ruin the story at all. That's because it wasn't simply about the unfolding mystery, it was also about the pilot's wife's reaction to everything that she learned.

I remember clearly the day several years ago that a co-worker of mine came in looking particularly haggard. I asked her if she was OK, and she said that she was fine. She had just been up most of the night reading a novel - this novel. However, this book languished on my TBR for years. That's primarily because I tried to read Fortunes' Rocks by the same author (which is loosely related to The Pilot's Wife), and I just couldn't get into that story. So I wasn't all that eager to try The Pilot's Wife. I'm sooooo glad that I finally picked it up.

Riveting story, very hard to put down. It will make you cry and be just as shocked as the character in the book. After Kathryn's husband dies in a horrific plain crash, she tries to remember if she really knew her husband as well as she thought she did. Her daughter seems to have more insight into this. In her search, she discovers love and laughter, betrayal and hurt. An Oprah's Book Club book.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable--one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

When her pilot husband is shot down and publicity rumours are of his "secret life," Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was. This novel passionately explores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

From the time Kathryn learns that her husband, who is a pilot, has died when the plane he was flying exploded near the coast of Ireland, the action is non-stop. She soon learns that she really didn't know him at all. Her husband was leading two separate lives. As the story unravels, I literally could not put this book down. A must read!

This book jumps right into the story. It deals with a woman who has lost her husband (the pilot) in a plane crash. It is interesting to see how she deals with the loss, and the different patterns of thought she goes through. She comes to know her husband had a mystery life, and it is also interesting to see how she deals with that discovery. Overall a good story.

This book had good flashbacks and characterization, and was easy to read. It's about Kathryn, whose husband is an intercontinental pilot. He dies in an airline crash, then rumors start that it was suicide. She begins to investigate and begins to doubt how well she knew her husband.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Until now, Kathryn Lyons's life has been peaceful if unextraordinary: a satisfying job teaching high school in the New England mill town of her childhood; a picture-perfect home by the ocean; a precocious, independent-minded fifteen-year-old daughter; and a happy marriage whose occasional dull passages she attributes to the unavoidable deadening of time. As a pilot's wife, Kathryn has learned to expect both intense exhilaration and long periods alone but nothing has prepared her for the late-night knock that lets her know her husband has died in a crash. As Kathryn struggles with her grief, she descends into a maelstrom of publicity stirred up by the modern hunger for the details of tragedy. Even before the plane is located in waters off the Irish coast, the relentless scrutiny of her husband's life begins to bring a bizarre personal mystery into focus. Could there be any truth to the increasingly disturbing rumors that he had a secret life?

A very engaging book. "Oprah's Book Club" selection. Strong character development with a story that reflects real life. We are exposed to the mundane and the exciting with a twist of mystery as one woman comes to term with the truth about her husband.

Enjoyed this book very much; a good mystery, with a good mix of emotion. The emotional aspect of the story is especially well described. There are many surprises and it leaves you wondering "how well do I really know anybody?"

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband,Jack, explodes of the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life. Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explored the question, How well can we ever really know another person.

When Katherine Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husban, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable, one step at a time. Soon drawn into a storm of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a double life, Katherine sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this story as it explores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

A wife is awakened by a knock at the door, telling her that her husband (who is a pilot) has died in a plane crash. She then begins to learn things about her husband that she never knew and she knows that she must learn the truth about her husband's life and death.

Great read, very touching. Underscores the idea that we never really know anyone...

I read this book awhile ago, back when it was first published, and I don't remember being very thrilled with it. It was one of those books that I felt obligated to read just because I spent $$ on it - definitely not a page turner.

This is one of the best novels I have read. Before you start this book, be sure you have plenty of time to finish it because it's hard to put down. Anita Shreve is able to put the reader up close and personal with her almost living, breathing characters.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her jusband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question. How well can we really know another person?

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock on the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question. How well can we ever rally know another person?

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knowck on the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable.......

The title character is drawn in to a maelstrom of publicity after a plane flown by her husband crashes, once rumors survace that the husband had lead a secret life. The wife sets out to learn about her husband's life. An Oprah selection.

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable -- one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack let a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who oherhusband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

A PILOT'S WIFE IS TAUGHT TO BE PREPARED FOR THE LATE NIGHT KNOCK AT THE DOOR.BUT WHEN KATHRYN LYONS RECIEVES WORD THAT A PLANE FLOWNS BY HER HUSBAND HAS EXPLORED NEAR THE COAST OF IRELAND,SHE CONFRONTED THE UNFAITHOMABLE ONE STARTLING REVALATION AT A TIME

As a pilot's wife Kathryn receives word that her husbands plane has exploded over the coast of Ireland. She learns that her husband had a second life. The story continues through her search to find out who he really was. Good characters and well written

Tragedy, intrique, romance..After her husband is killed in a fatal crash that could be blamed on him the wife digs into his private life. It is then she realizes she didn't know him at all. Good quick read.

My first by this author and I really liked it. I found it to be a page turner as I didn't want to be interrupted while reading and would hide from my family!
You are taken in from the very first page when the wife opens the door!

Gripping book! From the back cover..."A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable-one startling revelation at a time."

A Pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the lat-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives work toat a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly eplores the question, How well can we ever really know another person?

Gripping... You don't want to stop turning the pages once Kathryn has opened the door.
A pilots' wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. but when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelations at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, how well can we really know another person?

A novel by the author of the national bestseller "The Weight of Water".This is an Oprah's Book Club selection. This copy is a first edition trade-size paperback (5 1/2 x 8 1/2), 1999.

Kathryn Lyons recieves word that her pilot husband's plane has exploded near the coast of Ireland. She sets out to learn who her husband really was. Her search leads her to the question: How well can we ever really know another person? A moving novel.

With five novels to her credit, including the acclaimed The Weight of Water, Anita Shreve now offers a skillfully crafted exploration of the long reach of tragedy in The Pilot's Wife. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness:

Kathryn wished she could manage a coma. Instead, it seemed that quite the opposite had happened: She felt herself to be inside of a private weather system, one in which she was continuously tossed and buffeted by bits of news and information, sometimes chilled by thoughts of what lay immediately ahead, thawed by the kindness of others ... frequently drenched by memories that seemed to have no regard for circumstance or place, and then subjected to the nearly intolerable heat of reporters, photographers and curious on-lookers. It was a weather system with no logic, she had decided, no pattern, no progression, no form.

The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really take off.

And she didn't disappoint me there. Anita takes you on a journey through a woman's self-discovery as she struggles with her husband's death and the reality that she didn't know him like she thought she did. It is a portrayal of a strong woman who sets out to learn who her husband really was ~~ while at the same time working to protect her daughter and helping her through this trying time as well as exploring her self-realization.
It is a quick read as well as an engrossing one. Though the book doesn't stir up lots of debates like Oprah's other selections, the topic of adultery still hits too close to home. However, it is interesting to see how Kathryn deals with it during her grieving process and comes to the realization that none of us really know another person. This book may sound depressing, but it really isn't. You have to read between the lines to see that there is a gift of hope that Anita was trying to share with her readers as you grow along with Kathryn on her journey.

Being married to a pilot means you have to be a bit of a fatalist, but nothing has prepared Kathryn Lyons for the news of her husband's fatal crash. Even before the plane is located off the Irish coast, a callous media turns her personal life inside out. As Kathryn struggles with rage and grief, a bizarre mystery swims into focus:Who was this man she loved, and what lay behind the life she took for granted. She is determined to find the truth, even though she knows it isn't going to be pretty. Anita Shreve is the author of THE WEIGHT OF WATER and other acclaimed novels. She lives in western Massachusetts.

When Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable, one startling relevation at a time. She sets out to find out who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge mignt cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, how well do we really know another person?

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late night knock on the front door. When Kathryn Lyons received word that a plane flown by her husband has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a lot of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack lead a secret life, Katheryn sets out to learn the truth, no matter what the knowledge might cost. Her search explores the questions, how well can we ever really know another person?

Oprah's latest Book Club pick is The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreveâ"an engrossing thriller woven between the pages of a stirring meditation on love and betrayal. With one late-night knock on her door, Kathryn Lyons's worst fears as a pilot's wife come true: Her husband, Jack, has died in a mid-air explosion off the coast of Ireland. Later, a phone number found among Jack's papers leads Kathryn to London and the unfathomable truth about her husband's secret other life. A second wife and two young children are just the beginning of what Jack was hiding in England. With each staggering revelation, Kathryn must reconcile her memories of the man she loved with the disturbing portrait unfolding before her.

Desperately in need of editing. Such an enticing premise - how well can anyone know a loved one? Such a disappointing delivery. As an Irish-American, I guessed one of her twists within the first couple pages - there was no mystery or tension for me on that storyline. I couldn't believe she took so long to state the obvious. Shreve appears to have done no research on the history of turmoil in Ireland. I found the characters to be shallow and not fully developed. I didn't particularly like or sympathize with the widow. I did read the whole book, hoping it would improve or actually surprise me, but it did not.

Kathryn Lyons has a storybook life, a wonderful, loving, handsome husband who is an international-route airline pilot, a feisty fifteen year-old daughter, a beautiful home overlooking the ocean and a fulfilling job as a teacher. What more could she ask of life? It certainly is not to be awakened at 3:24 am in the morning by a knock on her door, a sound that only a pilot's wife, a soldier's wife, a cop's wife can fear. When the stranger says, "Mrs. Lyons?" she knows. Reading of the air crash that claimed her husband and 103 other people sent chills up my spine (shadows of 9-11). I immediately was drawn to the inner struggle of grief, loss and unbelief that Kathryn has to face. The story unwinds with delicate glimpses of humans at their worst and at their best: the media reporters who stalk her and her family, making their lives even more destroyed; the helpful young man from the pilot's union who seems to know the right things to say and do to comfort her; the agency officials who grill her without regard to her emotional state in their professional quest for the answers. What I found strangely lacking was no close family friends or coworkers to comfort her.

Then to add to her misery her dead husband is accused of being suicidal and deliberately causing the crash. She sifts through contents of his jeans pockets and finds fragments of papers with puzzling notations. Her curiosity draws her to a discovery that her husband of fifteen years was not what she thought he was. The story went astray after that and was never really concluded to my satisfaction.

back cover: A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable -- one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question. How well can we ever really know another person?